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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



HE l^ORMULH. 




A Book for Laundrymen. ' 

CONTAINING FORMULAS FOR VARIOUS LAUNDRY 
OPERATIONS, INCLUDING 

Washing, Bleacliiiig, Bluing, etc, 



TROY, N. Y.: 
E. H. LISK, PUBLISHER. 



1 




Copyright, 1SS9, 
By E. H. Lisk, 



Page. 

Introductory 4 

Soap Making , 7 

Soft Bleach Formula . 10 

Ozone Bleaching Fluid (for Colored 

Fabrics) 11 

Javelle Water for Bleaching 1^ 

Anti-Heat Marking Ink 12 

Nitrate of Silver Marking Ink 12 

Trojan Blue i;3 

Liquid Prussian Blue 14 

Liquid Blue of Commerce 14 

Preparation of Aniline Blue 14 

Washing'Mixture 14 

Starch Gloss (new) 15 

Soap from Soap Chips 15 

Washing and Bleaching Ifj 

Bleaching 16 

Soap Test 17 

Black Specks, their Cause, Prevention 

and Remedy 18 

General Hints 19 



INTRODUCTORY. 



Various books have been issued from 
time to time claiming to be of value in 
the Laundries. These works are for the 
most part misnomers. They are made up 
of vague hints, lengtky essays upon well 
understood processes, various recipes — 
most of which are out of date and few of 
which have any particular value. In 
short, the work that should be of any 
value to the Laundryman as an instructor 
has not heretofore been published. 

Feeling that there is need of such a 
work, the author, an old Troy Laundry- 
man, has sought to supply this need by 
"The Formula." 

In this work no space is given to ser- 
monizing or worthless recipes ; but, as the 
name implies, various formulas are given 
in the use of which the Laundryman may 
be the manufacturer of his supplies to a 
very large extent and thereby save every 



year many dollars, the amount depending, 
of course, upon the magnitude of business 
done. 

It is a well known fact, for instance, 
that the one article of soap pays to the 
manufacturer nearly 100% profit ; in other 
words, the Laundryman who makes his 
own soap saves from two to three cents 
upon every pound used. The trouble has 
been, heretofore, that those parties aim- 
ing to instruct the Laundryman in the 
fabrication of ^os^ call for a large pay- 
ment for instruction and an expensive 
apparatus. "The Formula," however, 
costs but $10, and the ^paratus required 
to make soap by the given process is com- 
parativ(ily inexpensive, while the process 
itself is simple and the result as good 
soap as made by any manufacturer. The 
same is true regarding the various ' ' fluids " 
for bleaching, in some cases as high as 
$200 being asked for the apparatus and 
"secret." The fluid of "The Formula" 
has no superior for the turning out of fine 
work, and the cost of apparatus is almost 
nothing. 

The " Trojan Blue " is equal in color to 



aniline, having none of the disadvantages 
of the latter and 7io sour is required. 

In short, there is hardly a formula 
given which is not worth more than the 
cost of the whole work, and some of them 
will save the laundryman every year many 
times the cost of the book. 

The author hopes for compensation in 
large sales. He could not afford otherwise 
to publish his information — the product 
of years of study and experiment, and he 
therefore most earnestly requests the 
buyers of this work to keep the informa- 
tion to themselves, leaving others to pay 
for it as they themselves have done. 

The Author 



0% 



The Formula 



SOAP MAKING. 

It is fully demonstrated that pure tallow 
soap made by the '^cold process" is the 
most economical and efficient for laundry 
use. The chip soa^" of commerce is 
almost entirely made by this process. 

In making soap 'it should be remem- 
bered that this useful compound is the 
result of chemical combination between 
grease and alkali As these articles vary 
in purity and strength as well as in other 
particulars it will be readily understood 
that an absolute unvarying formula is 
difficult. Approximation is the first 
thing, judgment and experience come 
next. The soaps of different makers 
differ quite as often in skillful manipula- 
tion as in quality of material. 

The formula for pure tallow soap is as 
follows : For a given quantity of tallow 
use one-half its weight of alkali of 38 



degrees strength. For example, to 
saponify 100 pounds of pure tallow, 50 
pounds of caustic alkali of 38 degrees 
strength are needed. We will give our 
formula upon the basis of 100 pounds of 
tallow, premising that after the process 
is understood, that it will be found as 
easy and, therefore, more economical, to 
use larger quantities. Hence in procuring 
apparatus the same should be of sufficient 
capacity for 400 pounds of tallow or more. 

In making soap the most crude appar- 
atus may be used. For instance, the 
melting may be done in a barrel by means 
of an improvised steam coil. The coil may 
be removed and the mixing may be done 
in the same barrel. The alkali may also 
be prepared in a barrel or tub, and the 
cooling done in tubs or boxes, but it will 
be found much more convenient to have 
proper apparatus, which is as follows : 
First, kettle for melting (may also be used 
for mixing); second, vat for mixing 
alkali ; third, cooling vats ; fourth, hy- 
drometer for testing strength of alkali ; 
fifth, thermometer ; sixth, crutch for 
stirring. * 



The kettle may be of copper, brass or 
iron, and heated by fire underneath, or 
steam jacket (which is the best) or steam 
coil. The alkali vat may be of iron or 
galvanized iron, or even wood will do. 
The cooling vats are of galvanized iron, 
say 36 X 12 X 12 inches. 

The hydrometer and thermometer may 
be obtained of any druggist. The crutch 
consists of a flat piece of steel, brass or 
copper, cut in oval form say 6x4 inches, 
having an upright handle brazed to the 
center and of sufficient length to make 
the work of stirring the soap convenient. 

We give the modus operandi as follow\s 
for 100 pounds of tallow : Take 15 
pounds of pure caustic soda and 5 pounds 
of pure caustic potash and dissolve in suffi- 
cient water to bring the total weight to 
50 pounds. This work should be done the 
day before the soap is to be made, as 
much heat is generated and it must cool 
before use. The potash is not necessary. 
Soda may be used alone, but the potash 
improves the soap. This alkali as thus 
made should test 38 degrees by the 
hydrometer, if less, add more soda. 



10 

Having melted the tallow stir it until 
it falls to about 110 degrees of heat (ther- 
mometer). Then bring the alkali up to the 
same heat. The alkali and tallow are then 
mixed together and stirred with the 
crutch until the whole mass begins to 
thicken. It is then poured into the cool- 
ing vatSj covered with muslin (in a warm 
place) and allowed to stand for about two 
days, at the end of which time the soap 
is ready for cutting up. Care should be 
taken to have all materials of the utmost 
purity. It is also essential that the alkali 
should be of full strength (38 degrees) 
and when the time comes for mixing the 
tallow and alkali about the same degree of 
heat in both alkali and tallow is essential. 

If, while stirring, the mixture shows 
nothing of a soapy smell a little more 
alkali may be added. After turning into 
vats note closely for any evidence of 
separation. In case this seems likely, re- 
turn again to the mixer and continue the 
stirring. 

SOFT BLEACH FORMULA. 

Dissolve 20 pounds chloride of lime in 
32 gallons cold water ; dissolve 40 pounds 



11 

carbonate of soda (soda crystals) in 11 
gallons warm water. Mix the two solu- 
tions together and filter or allow to settle. 
When settled draw into carboys and keep 
corked. (For use see page 16.) 



OZONE FLUID FOR BLEACHING. 

Ten pounds chloride of lime, B pounds 
pure caustic soda, 1 pound oxalic acid, 40 
gallons water. Dissolve the lime in 20 
gallons of water ; dissolve the caustic soda 
in 10 gallons of water ; dissolve the 
oxalic acid in 10 gallons of water. Mix 
all together and keep covered. When 
made it should test 2 degrees by the 
hydrometer. 

This makes a beautiful bleach and is 
especially valuable as it may be used on 
colored fabrics. It must not be used with 
soap, but instead, make the bleaching a 
separate operation, after suds and several 
rinses, using about 2 gallons to every 60 
shirts or their equivalent. Run for 15 or 
20 minutes in warm water. The colored 
work mav be run in with the white. '' 



12 
JAVELLE WATER. 

FOR BLEACHING. 

Five pounds chloride of lime, 10 pounds 
sulphate of soda, 4 pounds sal soda, 
12 gallons of water. Mix well. The 
precipitate will be sulphate of lime, which 
has some value. 

FORMULA FOR ANTI-HEAT INK. 

Procure one pint asi^haltum varnish, 
also ivory drop black ground in japan, 
turpentine and crude carbolic acid (liquid). 

To prepare — Ta,ke a lump of drop black 
about the size of an English walnut ; 
work it into liquid (not very thin) by 
using turpentine, using just turpentine 
enough for the purpose. Mix this into 
the varnish by thorough stirring. Use 
the carbolic acid to thin down to proper 
consistency for use with a common pen. 
Should it thicken at any time, thin with 
carbolic acid. 

/nitrate of silver marking 

INK. 

Nitrate of silver, 5 parts ; distilled 
water, 12 parts ; powdered gum arable, 5 



13 

parts ; carbonate of soda, 7 parts ; solu- 
tion of ammonia, 10 parts. Dissolve 
the nitrate of silver in ammonia ; powder 
the soda and gum, then mix. Heat 
gently until it becomes a dark color. 
The marking should be set by applying 
heat. 

TROJAN BLUE. 

INDIGO SOLUTION. 

Three and one-half ounces indigo, 1 
quart best sulphuric acid. Have the 
indigo dry and powdered. Mix it into the 
acid a little at a time, stirring it while 
mixing. Let it stand 24 hours, then keep 
in tight bottle. Li mixing, space must be 
;illowed for foaming. 

ANILINE SOLUTION. 

EKssolve 1 ounce aniline in 1 quart 
water. 

TO MAKE. 

Mix together one- half pint indigo 
solution, 1 pint aniline solution, 1 gallon 
water. 



14 

LIQUID PRUSSIAN BLUE. 

Two ounces Prussian blue, two ounces 
oxalic acid. Dissolve in one gallon water 
and filter. 

LIQUID BLUE OF COMMERCE. 

Dissolve 2 ounces of soluble blue and 1 
ounce oxalic acid in 1 gallon soft water. 

PREPARATION OF ANILINE 
BLUE. 

The usual method of preparing aniline 
blue is to dissolve 1 ounce of the aniline 
in 1 gallon of soft water. If soft water 
is not available use distilled water. Stir 
the blue in a little at a time. Be sure you 
have a perfect solution. When well 
mixed add 3 ounces of acetic acid. Filter 
before using. 

^ WASHING MIXTUR-E. 

FOR HAND WASHING. 

Three quarts water, 5 pounds best bar 
soap, 4 ounces sal soda, 4 ounces borax, 1 
ounce turpentine. Slice up the soap and 
dissolve in the water by heating and 



15 

stirring ; when dissolved, stir in the soda, 
borax and turpentine ; when cool, cut 
into bars. Very little rubbing is neces- 
sary when this mixture is used. 

^ STARCH GLOSS. 

One pint glycerine, 1 pound oxide zinc, 
1 pound precipitated chalk, 1 pound white 
glue. Rub zinc and chalk together; melt 
glycerine and glue together (using Httle 
water). Then mix all well together until 
it makes a thick, pasty mass. To one 
gallon cooked starch add about one ounce 
of paste dissolved in hot water and stirred 
in while cooking. 

BEST METHOD OF MAKING SOFT 
SOAP FROM SOAP CHIPS. 

Dissolve li pounds caustic soda in 3 
gallons of water. Put in 5 pounds 
neutral tallow soap, and boil 30 minutes. 
Then add three gallons more water and 
boil 15 minutes longer. Pour this mix- 
ture into a 30-gallon barrel and fill with 
clear water, stirring all the time. Potash 
may be used in place of the caustic soda 
if preferred. An addition of one-half 



16 

pint turpentine just before filling ba 
with clear water will improve the soa 

WASHING AND BLEACHING 

(Example, 50 shirts or equivalent.) 
Start with lukewarm water, one- 
pint of soft bleach and soap enougl 
make good suds. Run thirty mimj 
Then draw off and fill with quite 
water. Use 1 pint soft bleach and s 
enough to make suds. Run 30 mini; 
last five minutes quite hot. Now r 
three times. Then sour 10 mini: 
For fine work use oxalic acid. R 
three times more, then blue. 

BLEACHING. 

The bleaching done by laundry me] 
for the most part, re-hleacliing, and 
this reason our soft bleach is better t 
anything else, the deleterious effect u 
the fabric being very slight, and it aL 
readily removed by rinsing. At tii 
more thorough bleaching is necessary 
for this purpose prepare, first, chlorid 
lime solution of 2 degrees strength (al 
10 pounds lime to 10 gallons wa 



17 

second, prepare a sour bath of water and 
sulphuric acid, using just enough of the 
acid to give the water a sharp, sour taste. 

OPERATION. 

First wash the goods in a strong 
alkahne water, rinse several times and 
then put into the chloride of lime solu- 
tion. Let it steep for from 15 to 30 min- 
utes, depending upon the amount of 
bleaching desired. Then remove directly 
to sour solution for from 5 to 10 minutes. 
Rinse thoroughly. If required color is 
not obtained, repeat the operation. 
[N. B. — This operation is for bleaching 
and not for re-bleaching, and great care 
must be used to prevent damage.] 

SOAP TEST. 

To test the purity of soap, take a pint 
bottle and fill it half full of alchohol. 
Put in 2 ounces of the soap to be tested 
and place the bottle in a basin of water 
and boil the water until the soap in the 
bottle is dissolved. Cork the bottle and 
put away to cool. When cool, the im- 



18 

purities (if any) will have settled to the 
bottom of the bottle, showing a dark 
colored substance. 

BLACK SPECKS. 

THEIR CAUSE, PREVENTION AND REMOVAL. 

Generally, soaps used in the public 
laundry have an excess of alkali. Quite 
frequently this alkali is added by the 
iaundryman instead of the soap maker, 
and is therefore not perfectly incorporated 
with the soap. The tendency of alkali is 
to combine with grease and form soap. 

All soiled wearing apparel contains 
more or less matter of a greasy or oily 
nature, hence, in washing, if any of the 
alkali in the soap becomes ' ' free " — i. e. , 
separated from the soap — it combines with 
the oily matter in the clothes and forms 
soap. If there be any dirt present the 
soap so formed will be dark color or black. 
Thus are the dark specks formed. Now 
this soap so formed is different from ordi- 
nary soap in that it is not soluble in 
water, hence, to remove it we must have 
a solvent and this solvent is found in 
spirits of turpentine. 



19 

To prevent specks : First, be careful 
not to use any more alkali than necessary ; 
second, in washing always be sure to 
keep the suds "alive." The separation 
spoken of above always takes place when 
the suds die away. So if at any time 
this seems likely to occur, put more soap 
to the wash so as to hold the suds. 

To remove specks, boil for a few min- 
utes in water to which is added a little 
neutral soap and a small quantity of tur- 
pentine. 

GENERAL HINTS. 

Laundrymen should beware of waste. 

Starch should cook one hour before use. 

Sulphate of indigo makes a very good 
blue. 

Kerosene oil is said to make a fine 
starch gloss. 

Keep your laundry and all appliances 
neat and clean. 

See that your bleaching solution (lime) 
is always clear and of a greenish hue. 



20 

Equal portions of wheat and corn starch 
make the most popular laundry mixture. 

Aim to reduce the use of chemicals to 
the finest point compatible with good 
work. 

To clean the headers of washing ma- 
chines, steam thoroughly with a jet of 
steam through hose. 

Starch is composed of minute grains 
which expand and burst Y/ith heat, hence 
the necessity of cooking. 

Sour. — For souring purposes sulphuric 
acid is the cheapest, acetic acid the least 
harmful and oxalic acid the best. 

A perforated coil makes the best starch 
cooker. Provide a drip to take away the 
condensation before the steam enters the 
coil. 

Exhaust steam is valuable. By having 
tanks and coils through which the 
exhaust may pass you will always have 
plenty of hot water. 

Kerosene oil, turpentine, camphine, 



21 

ammonia, bicarbonate of soda and borax 
all have good detersive qualities and if 
used with judgment are valuable. 

Do not depend too much upon the 
bleach. Soil and discoloration should as 
far as possible be removed in the wash, 
the bleach being simply the finishing 
touch. 

All wool goods are washed in water of 
about 120 degrees and rinsed in the same 
temperature. They may be wrung in the 
centrifugal but not in the roll wringer. 
Use mild, pure soap and borax. Dry 
quickly. 

Bleaching and Washing.— While the 
soft bleach allows washing and bleaching 
to be done at the same time, the best 
results are obtained by bleaching separ- 
ately. The former method saves time and 
possibly soap ; the latter gives clearer 
work. We advise the former for shirt 
work, the latter for collars and cuffs. 

Piece prices in large custom laundries 
run something as follows : Finishing 
shirts after starching machine, 5 cents to 



6 cents per dozen ; starching shirts by 
hand, 10 cents to 15 cents per dozen ; 
finishing collars after starching machine, 
8 cents to 12 cents per hundred ; starching 
collars by hand, 4 cents to 5 cents per 
dozen ; finishing shirts after machine and 
body ironer, 50 cents to 75 cents per hun- 
dred ; finishing shirts after machine, 1 
cent to li cents each ; ironing shirts by 
hand, 3^ to cents each. 

Dust is the laundry man's enemy. In 
the summer season it creeps in through 
every door, window, crack and crevice, 
and, as a result, laundrymen must be 
eternally on the alert, otherwise baskets, 
boxes, shelves and tables will become 
sprinkled and many beautiful jobs will be 
spoiled and will need to return again to 
the wash room. In point of fact this 
happens more frequently than many sup- 
pose. As a remedy we suggest the fol- 
lowing : Do mvay tvith your baskets and 
use bags. The bags may be made of 
canvas, jean or any serviceable material, 
of the right size to be convenient — say 
about two bushels capacity — and drawn 
together with a strong cord. Provide 



23 

suitable wooden holder to hold the hags 
op^n while being filled. When full the 
cord is drawn together and the goods aie 
safe from dirt. The advantages over 
baskets may be seen at a glance. 

Some laundry men experience trouble in 
getting a perfect solution of aniline. Try 
the following : Weigh out the amount 
you wish to use. Put it into a small bag 
made of heavy cotton cloth and tie 
securely. Place this bag in the required 
amount of water and boil until the anihne 
seems to have left the bag (?. e., is dis- 
solved). Bluing thus made will not need 
filtering unless the cloth used is very 
coarse. Do not squeeze the bag. You 
can better afford to lose a few grains of 
aniline than to have blue specks in your 
work. 

The merits of Brimstone as a bleacher 
are not generally appreciated. Burning 
brimstone throws off sulphurous acid, a 
most powerful disinfectant and bleacher 
as well. Should you at any time have 
clothing to handle which you have reason 
to believe is disease infected, it should be 
submitted to the fumes of burning briin 



24 

stone before being otherwise handled. 
For this purpose provide an apartment 
nearly air-tight. Hang the goods to be 
acted upon upon lines. Put the required 
amount of Brimstone in an iron vessel 
and apply fire to it. Close the room and 
let the goods remain until the fire is spent. 
Do not enter the room until it has been 
well aired. This method of disinfecting 
is also bleaching. The effect upon 
woolens is especially fine. 

Don't give away the information in 
this book. Let others pay for it if they 
want it, as you have done. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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